Need help with hardware for an expanding table

[Mike Henderson]

Expanding tables, for example a dining room table with leaves that can be removed, often have hardware under the table that's used to pull, and lock, the table together. I need some of that hardware but don't even know what it's called - so I'm having trouble finding it.

I'd like something that will pull the table together tightly, but which does not stick down below the table very much.

Anyone know what's that hardware is called, and where I might purchase a few pieces?

Mike

[Jamie Buxton]

Look on this page http://woodworking.rockler.com/c/table-hardware and the second page too, for table locks. You might also be interesting in table pins, and in extension slides.

[Jerry Miner]

Wood table slides are available here (http://www.wwhardware.com/wood-table-slides-for-tables-with-leaves-mtableslides) and elsewhere.

[Greg Barnett]

You can get the slides here (http://www.paxtonhardware.com/Gear-Table-Slides/departments/971/) or here (http://woodworker.com/c-Hardware-table/assembly-hardware/) I like the ones with the metal gears, seem to work better with less sticking.

[Don Kingston]

What we used as I grew up, my mom yelled go stand on that end, now push or pull, which ever direction she wanted. Does that help? LOL

[Jim Matthews]

That mechanism is nearly impossible to keep clean.

Were I to build a table with leaves, I would emulate this method (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK9_7r3L5D4&list=UUyArEaYSMdfG2xK2WX0WyQQ)
by Timothy Clark. That way the main table surface is continuous.

[Mike Henderson]

Look on this page http://woodworking.rockler.com/c/table-hardware and the second page too, for table locks. You might also be interesting in table pins, and in extension slides.
Thanks, Jamie. I found them on the Rockler pages but now that I know they're called "table locks" I can search wider.

I appreciate the other suggestions in this thread but I know about expansion tables and the other things needed, such as extension slides - I've built several expanding tables. I had never put table locks on them, however, and didn't know what they were called.

Also, the item I'm working on it pretty much complete so all I need is the table locks. Everything else is done.

Thanks for the help.

Mike

[Oh, for table pins. In the past, I've used dowels with one end rounded. For this table, I used 5mm Dominos with one end rounded. They worked very well, and look good.]